Watch Me Grow
by charlibubble
Summary: Sequel to 'Geek Baby' Follow little Lucie over the first year of her life as she runs rings around her parents! GSR
1. Chapter 1

"Lucie Grissom?"

Gil and Sara both stood simultaneously and looked eagerly at the photographer in front of them. She was young, younger than them but she had a kind smile and she looked in at little Lucie's pushchair as they wheeled her into the room.

Lucie had entered the world too soon, but she was certainly making her presence known in their lives. Lives which had once revolved around work and death now revolved around one little girl. Their life was a jumble of late night feeds, diaper changes and hospital appointments. At 10 weeks old Lucie had grown strong enough to come home. She had surprised all the medical staff with how quickly she had thrived, had Sara carried to term they would still have another 3 weeks of pregnancy left. It was surreal to be bringing her home, to be placing her on the soft blankets in her crib and switching on her mobile.

She wasn't completely in the clear of course; she was still very small and suffered a slight developmental delay. The doctors had screened her for just about every ailment before allowing her home and the only problem they found was with her hearing.

Lucie was almost completely deaf.

While this was something which saddened them, it was never looked upon as a problem. Lucie was lucky in a way to have been born to a family with so much experience and understanding of the deaf community. If anyone could help a deaf child thrive it was Sara and Gil.

At 12 weeks old Lucie was about to take advantage of her first gift and embark on her first ever photoshoot.

Sara carefully pulled back the blankets around her baby. She stretched out and yawned, crinkling her nose as she did so. Her tiny little hands reaching out above her and her long legs curling up towards her tummy. Sara carefully twisted a strand of her thick dark curls around her finger before stroking her soft cheek and being rewarded by Lucie's bright blue eyes looking at her.

"I'm sorry sweetie"

She slipped her hands under her and held her close to her chest as the photographer prepared the scene. She covered a huge padded basket with a length of white silk and gestured for Sara to bring the baby over. Sara carefully positioned her onto the silk and hovered around out of shot.

The photographer took many different shots of her, by the time they were finished Sara and Grissom were exhausted but little Lucie was as energetic as ever. She looked at them as she lay in her pushchair, her sparkling eyes so wide and innocent.

They both crouched over to smile at her, she had the power to make them act like fools just by looking at them. Her eyes flickered between them, watching every movement in their faces and her lips curled into the most beautiful genuine smile either of them had ever seen. The photographer quickly snapped an extra image as Grissom and Sara looked at each other.

"She smiled!" Sara beamed

"She sure did! Her first smile"

"She probably thinks we're crazy"

Grissom placed a kiss on Sara's forehead and slipped his arm around her, regarding their baby as she chewed on her hands, looking at them with those all-knowing eyes reserved only for babies.

"She's probably right"

The photographer was clicking away on her computer and eventually waved them over to her side. The screen was filled with images and with a click of a button a slide show began. Image after image of Lucie passed them by, each one more beautiful than the next. The team had certainly chosen a wonderful gift but how were they going to continue to choose just one image every month?

The images passed from a sleeping baby curled up in her basket to a tiny baby curled up on a flower, finally the slideshow stopped on the smile. Sara and Gil hunched over the pushchair framing that beaming gummy smile. That precious first smile.

It had to be that one.

"That's the first time I've ever got a first smile" the photographer smiled.

Sara looked over at the little pink bundle in front of her.

"Because you're such a clever little thing aren't you?"

Lucie once again broke into her beautiful wide smile as she watched her mother. Sara couldn't help but laugh, her heart felt like it was going to burst with pride and joy. She even felt tears stinging at her eyes.

"Yup, she definitely thinks I'm crazy"


	2. Chapter 2

Lucie squirmed in her mother's arms, Sara hated coming for these appointments. The audiologists insisted on keeping her perfectly still and for some unknown reason Lucie was never more energetic than when she was in that room. On top of that Lucie had sprouted a thick mane of dark curls that got coated in the horrible jelly they used to stick the electrodes to her scalp. Sara knew the drill; she sat Lucie on her lap and held her tight while they stuck little pads on specific points on her head and inserted tiny little headphone buds into her ears.

In principle Sara hated this, she hated that her daughter had to be subjected to this poking and prodding and investigations every few weeks. She knew it was necessary, if they were going to do anything to help Lucie hear then this is where it would start. Lucie was starting to get really irate now, she hated having the buds in her ears and rubbed and grasped furiously at them trying to remove them before holding her arms out to her daddy.

Sara smiled as she passed Lucie to him, careful not to move any of the wires which now adorned her daughters head like tentacles. She was such a daddy's girl, Sara was good for food and playtimes but when it came to cuddles Lucie always wanted her daddy. Gil had a strange calming influence on her; more times than she could count Sara had come home to find Lucie sitting in her father's lap while he read a huge Novel. He was working his way through 'Pride and Prejudice' right now, insisting that she was enjoying the complex characters and plotlines. Sara found it best to just agree with him, although she had to admit she was fascinated by Lucie's interest in his books. She had once tried to read 'the velveteen rabbit' to her and she had positively scoffed at the simplicity before slobbering all over the corner.

Grissom held his baby daughter to his chest and whispered into her ear before nodding towards the consultant to begin the test. Sara watched for any sing of a response on her daughters face, a tiny flicker of recognition or interest would be enough for her. Instead Lucie chewed on her tiny clenched fist and snuggled into Grissom's chest, her eyes drooping heavily.

The test confirmed yet again what they already knew. Lucy had residual hearing in one ear but almost nothing in the other.

"We'll have her back in another 6 weeks to retest, it could still rectify itself. Congenital hearing loss can spontaneously repair itself at any point in the first 6 months"

Grissom nodded and kissed her soft curls as she began to stir and stretch. Her bright blue eyes regarding her mother with interest.

Sara leaned closer to her and brought her palm to her own chin before pointing it to the baby and running her thumb along her jawline.

"Good girl" she said as confirmation.

The audiologist was intrigued.

"You're signing with her already?"

Grissom and Sara exchanged a glance; they had always intended to sign with her as early as possible. It was something she was always going to be exposed to whether she was deaf or not. Sara was glad she had learned to sign before she was born, it had been incredibly difficult to grasp the language, and she had to admit she still struggled at times.

"We sign a lot at home anyway"

As they stepped out of the hospital and into the autumn sunshine Sara tried to remove some of the gunk from Lucie's hair. The baby returned the favour grasping at Sara's hair and giggling as it tickled her nose. When Sara pulled away her hair was piled on her head in a mess of curls.

"Beautiful" Sara said clearly accompanying it with the sign.

Grissom couldn't help but beam at her.

"Am I doing it wrong?"

Grissom signed 'no' eliciting a smile from his beautiful wife and his daughter.

"Are we going to sign everything now?"

"Not everything"

He winked and pulled her in for a kiss sparking another hearty giggle from the baby in the pushchair. She seemed to find kissing hilariously funny. It could be quite distracting, sharing a long passionate kiss on the sofa as she lay on her play mat giggling heartily at their display of affection. All attention was directed at the cute little laugh and the bouncing curls, the kiss and the passion forgotten in an instant.

Grissom turned from his wife and gave his full attention to the gurgling, wriggling little girl. She cooed in excitement at seeing her daddy, her little legs and arms wriggling so fast that her blankets were quickly discarded.

Sara sighed, she was dealing with another woman stealing her husband's heart but she wouldn't change it for the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Sara was exhausted as she stepped through her door. She had barely managed 5 months on maternity before she had gone back to work. Catherine had practically begged her as they were so short but Sara had also felt a need to return to adult life. She felt a need to return some sort of normality to their routine.

Their apartment resembled some sort of toy store explosion. There were literally toys on every surface and dotted around the floor. Her OCD brain kicked in immediately as she started picking things up on her way in, she would have been annoyed if she didn't hear the most beautiful sound in the world coming from the nursery. Lucie's hearty giggle could melt a heart made of stone.

Sara leaned against the door frame watching as her husband attempted the diaper change. Lucie's chubby legs wriggled and kicked as he tried to get hold of them. He caught one little foot and held it in the air slipping the used diaper out from under her. Lucie laughed as she grabbed the bottle of talcum powder; before Grissom had the chance to intervene she had squeezed the bottle, coating them both in a thick layer of white powder.

"That's a good look for you"

"How am I supposed to do it all at once, she's like a baby octopus!"

Sara walked towards them laughing, little Lucie's wriggling intensifying throwing up another puff of white smoke making her sneeze.

"You just like to keep your daddy on his toes don't you lady?"

Sara quickly moved the bottle of powder, slipping a clean diaper under her daughter and wiping the powder from her face before slipping on a soft knitted onesie.

Grissom slipped his arms around her, watching as Lucie happily chewed on Sara's Pandora bracelet.

"She's just like her mummy; I can't keep up with her"

Sara sighed, being back at work certainly made her appreciate her moments at home. Her eyes were drawn to an image in a book on the shelf beside her. Lucie was smiling widely, her blue eyes glistening as she sat in a huge wicker basket.

"You took her for her photo?"

"All by myself."

She picked it up, studying every tiny detail. Babies could grow and change so fast, she felt a bit like every time she looked at her she had changed somehow. That's why the team's gift was so special, whenever she became overwhelmed at how quickly her daughter was growing and changing she could always sit by her crib and look through the precious photographs. She had already come such a long way from her traumatic birth. She was the happiest, chubbiest little baby Sara had ever known. Sara was impressed with Grissom's outfit choice. A simple red pinafore and white blouse, he had even managed to put a little red bow in her hair to try and tame it slightly. Nothing could tame that girl's unruly locks; Sara loved her mass of curls and her bright eyes. Her daddy clearly had strong genetics.

"What's with all the toys?"

Grissom looked positively bursting with excitement as he whipped Lucie into his arms and disappeared into the living room.

"We're practicing a new trick"

He sat Lucie in the middle of a circle, a pillow propping her up and gestured for Sara to take the chair behind him. She sat down curiously, her brow furrowed in amusement rather than irritation. Grissom picked up a teddy bear and sat him in front of Lucia. She immediately reached out for him with a wide smile on her face before Grissom stopped her.

"No Lucie. Remember? Teddy Bear" as he spoke he crossed his arms over his chest and moved his fingers.

Sara watched as Lucie took it in, she could almost see her little brain working as she raised her hands to mirror his action. Sara's heart could have exploded with pride as Grissom praised her and passed her the teddy bear.

"She's signing? That's amazing!"

"Well it took me all day! Watch this"

Grissom pointed to Sara.

"Mommy" he placed his thumb on his chin and fanned out his fingers

Lucie laughed and raised her hand to her chin, deciding at the last minute against copying her daddy and choosing instead to chew on her chubby little fist.

"Well we're still working on that one"


	4. Chapter 4

Betty Grissom was stood watching eagerly as they pushed Lucie's pushchair towards her. Sara took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for an afternoon with her mother in law. It wasn't really that she didn't like her. It was more that she struggled with people judging her and Betty didn't judge privately, Betty expressed her judgements outwardly and with conviction.

The elderly woman's eyes lit up when she saw them arriving with her grand-daughter and she ran over to them full of excitement. It was actually quite endearing, thought Sara. Betty had been very keen for a grandchild, there was no doubt that she loved little Lucie a huge amount. She must have spent a huge portion of her retirement fund buying toys and clothes for her.

She completely ignored her son and daughter in law in favour of hanging over the edge of the pushchair and cooing at the baby. She slipped her hands into the pushchair and unclipped the harness, lifting Lucie high in the air to a symphony of giggles. The smile on the woman's face would melt a heart of stone. There was something about Betty Grissom, something which infuriated her while at the same time made her want to please her.

Maybe she was like her son after all.

Sara had gone off in a tangent with her thoughts and didn't notice Betty, Gil and Lucie move into the small café of the department store. She rushed with the pushchair to join them. Betty had Lucie sitting on the edge of the table as Gil demonstrated Lucie's new found signing skills. He had vested a lot of his time in teaching her. He had the patience of a saint.

They spent an hour or so in the café. Sara really had to bite her tongue when Betty gave Lucie a swirl of cream from her cake to taste. Lucie's little mouth started moving a mile a minute in excitement at this new taste, her little arms and legs waved about furiously. She was about to launch into a rant about diet and responsibility but there was just something too adorable about Betty and Lucie. Betty didn't once look at them; she directed every bit of focus and energy at the baby.

"We should get going or we'll miss our appointment"

She said it into the air, there was no point signing anyway Betty's undivided attention still focussed on Lucie. Gil gently squeezed her arm and told her they had to go a she stood without protest marching off with Lucie on her hip. Sara and Gil exchanged a look which expressed all of Sara's frustration, impatience and defiance when it came to his mother. Grissom typically just put his arm around her and placed a gentle kiss on her head.

They arrived at the studio 10 minutes late, Betty had insisted on stopping to show Lucie the fountain outside and teach her the sign. They had stood there for almost 15 excruciating minutes waiting on them. In the end Gil had almost had to drag Lucie from her arms and march her into the building.

As a result both Betty and Lucie were in a grumpy mood when they arrived. Sara found it quite funny watching Gil interact with his mother. He spoke to her almost like one would speak to a child yet it was very clear who was the boss. The photographer arranged them all in a group and snapped away, taking some of Lucie on her own and (at Betty's request) some of Lucie with her Grandmother. As they surrounded the computer to look at the finished images Betty slapped her credit card on the table and signed for Gil to translate.

"She'll take the lot"


	5. Chapter 5

"I just have to pick up one thing and then we can get going"

Sara stepped out of the car and was about to run into the building when Lucie caught her eye, she had her arms outstretched towards her as though begging to go with her. Who was she to refuse?

"I'll bring her in for a few minutes"

Grissom knew that with Catherine in the lab a 'few minutes' could very easily transform into an hour or two. He sighed and switched the engine off, resigned to the fact that he would be in the lab for the majority of the day. Sara and Lucie gave him identical smiles as he stepped out to join them. The women in his life certainly knew how to manipulate him.

Lucie had never been to the lab before, there was no need really the team had all come to visit her at the hospital. She gazed around at the bright lights and the hustle and bustle of the reception as Judy handed out a visitor pass to Grissom. He didn't like having to wear a visitor pass; he still felt very much a part of the lab. His heart and soul had gone into these walls for many years he felt a strong connection to this building and he suspected he always would.

Catherine spotted them from her office and came running towards them, stretching her arms out to Lucie and beaming a wide smile.

"There's my little princess Lucie! Oh you are a good girl"

She took Lucie from Sara's arms before turning her attention to her parents.

"What are you doing here? It's your day off!"

"I left something in my locker; we'll just be in and out"

"Well not before Lucie says hi to uncle Nicky and Uncle Greg, right princess? We'll be right back"

Sara and Grissom both knew that Catherine would be taking Lucie around the entire lab introducing her to people. They skirted past the locker room and got a coffee instead taking it into the office for some relative peace and quiet.

"Do you miss it?"

Grissom had been deep in thought looking around at the walls that had once been more familiar to him than his own home. They were so different now. He wasn't sure if it made him a little sad or not. Things changed and progressed all the time it was the natural order of things and his life had changed and progressed in ways he would never have thought possible 10 or even 5 years ago.

"No, I wouldn't change it for the world"

They locked eyes over the table with a small smile, as they had done many times in this very room. They could almost read each other's minds at times; it had been a huge benefit to them when they had started dating. Being able to communicate an entire conversation with a single look had made it a lot easier to keep their secret.

"Your here, I … uh I heard from Catherine. She's walking about with a baby and she said… well you're here!"

Hodges approached Grissom and grabbed him into a hug. Sara rolled her eyes at the over the top show of affection, she didn't really have a lot of time for Hodges although it was entertaining watching Grissom react to the invasion of his personal space.

"David stop hugging me"

"I'm sorry, sir. I realise that may have been a little inappropriate. I'm just glad to see you back. Sara"

He nodded his head in her general direction; she could swear he was actually jealous of her at times. She wondered if his fascination with Grissom had extended beyond some kind of hero worship to an altogether lass attractive place.

"I won't be staying long, as soon as Catherine brings Lucie back we will be out of your hair"

They could almost see Hodges heart breaking in front of their eyes as he left the room with a heavy sigh.

"You know, if it doesn't work out with me, I think Hodges would be more than willing…"

"Don't even go there Sara!"

Catherine could be heard cooing over Lucie in some part of the lab, they were well aware that they could probably leave the building and she wouldn't notice. Nick joined them nursing his own coffee cup.

"Catherine won't let me near her; I think she's planning on abducting her and leaving the country"

"She'd have her back within a week Nicky, apparently our daughter thinks sleep is over rated. I come to work for a rest!"

"Oh I can't imagine where she gets that from!"

A screwed up ball of paper seemed like the perfect weapon to launch in his direction just as Brass came into the room with a nod to Grissom.

"Thought you were off today? Nicky you got a 419"

He passed Nick a slip of paper before taking a seat at the table.

"What's up with the Grissom's? You seem to be missing a little one"

If there was one person Grissom missed form his days of working in the lab it was Jim Brass. He missed every one of his team but he and Jim were good friends and although they saw each other outside of the lab it wasn't the same as it had been those years ago. The dynamics of their relationship had changed slightly.

"Catherine has kidnapped her"

"You going to be acting supervisor tonight then cos I got a 419 with your name all over it?"

Before Grissom would answer Catherine was at the door passing Lucie to him reluctantly.

"I have to work, wish I could bring her with me but I don't think a trunk full of decomp is an appropriate place for a baby girl. Not even when she's your daughter!"

Lucie smiled and clapped her hands as she perched on the edge of the table in front of Grissom, she ran her chubby little hands through the bristles on his chin and laughed a hearty little laugh that had them all smiling at her.

"Sorry Jim, you'll have to make do without me. I got a new job to get on with"


	6. Chapter 6

Sara and Grissom sat side by side watching as Lucie underwent yet another hearing test. This was a new one, a novelty and Lucie seemed to be enjoying it immensely. A mini set of earphones sat in her ears as she sat on a chair in the middle of a small table. On either side of her stood a tall tower comprising of 3 boxes. The audiologist would play a sound into one of Lucie's ears and if she looked towards it a box would light up with a loveable creature dancing and moving around as a reward. It reminded Sara of offering a dog a treat for doing as it was told.

The audiologist tried the sound in varying pitches and levels and Lucie barely responded. At a pitch audible to both Sara and Grissom through their daughter's ears she looked to her right and giggled as a soft stuffed dog performed backflips and barked for her. From then on the whole test was an epic fail. Lucie decided she liked the little barking dog, not only would she look over at the boxes at random intervals on the off chance that it would light up, if the audiologist dared to show something like the pig or the little cat she threw her own version of a hissy fit. Eventually the test had to be abandoned in favour of something a little less reliant on Lucie's response and cooperation.

A few minutes later and they were seated in a small office surrounded by models of ears and posters of kids in hearing aids. It made Sara nervous, most official places like this did. The minute she had to sit in an office her defences were up and this was no different.

The audiologist smiled at them from her desk before studying some graphs pinned to Lucie's file.

"I'm afraid that Lucie's hearing shows no signs of improvement. We didn't expect change on her left side but her right should have recovered significantly more by now and it shows no change. I think we will have to operate. We need to open up the channel that allows fluid between the inner and outer ear. If we do it soon she may be able to have some speech"

Sara looked over at Grissom, this was good news. They had never expected her to be able to develop speech but an operation was a frightening thought.

"How soon did you have in mind Dr?"

"I can fit her in this time next week, if that's ok with you?"

Sara could swear her heart actually stopped. The sir was sucked from the room around her and everything went black. Her focus fixed on her daughter who was in her pushchair frowning as she desperately tried to reach the small mirror hanging from the canopy. The thought of Lucie going for an operation scared her a lot more than she thought. It was always going to be a possibility. Lucie was actually in the minority since she left hospital without needing an op. a huge percentage of premature babies needed a major op I the first weeks of their lives. Before she had fully recovered Grissom had agreed to the op and they were heading out of the door.

"Why did you agree so easily?"

"It wasn't a negotiation Sara, she needs this operation. It's best to get it over and done with"

"She's not ready"

He pulled her close to him placing a slow kiss on her mouth to a symphony of giggles from the pushchair.

"You mean you're not ready? She'll be fine"

Exactly one week later they stood on the very same spot, having almost the very same conversation. The horrible feeling hadn't left her but she knew Grissom was right. He had spent the week convincing her, she had spent the week researching the operation and every detail she could get about what they were going to do. Knowledge is power Grissom always said.

They were shown to a ward, the 3 other beds so far empty and a crib set up for Lucie with her name already on it. It was painfully quiet as they waited. Sara longed for a distraction as she fidgeted in her chair; Lucie had fallen asleep in her pushchair, totally oblivious to the fuss she was causing.

The consultant came in, introducing herself and talking them through the operation. They nodded politely, pretending to listen and be really interested when they already knew the operation inside and out. She asked them a huge list of questions, everything from details of her birth to what she likes to eat and then they rubbed some cream into her little hands; this was to numb them for the IV tube later. It was time to go to the surgical building.

Sara definitely didn't like it here; this place was smaller and more restricted. Everywhere she looked were worried parents wringing their hands together, chatting urgently on their phones or crying softly in the corner. They were marched straight through to a small room with a lot of medical equipment stacked on the shelves. A bed lay in the centre and it was surrounded by medical staff. Sara's heart was racing so fast she could swear they could see it through her blouse. She carefully held lucie to her chest, whispering calming words in her ear and laid her on the bed as instructed.

"We will inject this into her arm and count backwards from 5. try and keep her calm she will be sleeping before we get to 1 ok?"

Unsurprisingly Lucie didn't react to well to this, her eyes filled with fear and she screamed as they grabbed onto her arm and injected her with the drugs to make her sleep. Sara stroked her hair as they began to count. By the time they got to 2 Lucie's eyes rolled back in her head and her whole body flopped lifelessly on the bed, for a terrible moment Sara though something horrible had happened. She thought she had lost her daughter right there and then and before she had the chance to react the doctor ushered her out of the room and closed the door as the other medical staff got to work sticking tubes and monitors where they needed to be. Sara gazed in the small glass panel with tears in her eyes; she had never been through anything so frightening in her entire life.

"Let's go get a coffee"

Grissom put his arms around her and held her close. She had planned to remain rooted to the spot watching the glass but the secretary was urging them to sit in the family room and wait for news. Sara as a rule hated family rooms; they were always where the bad news came from. She avoided them in the misguided hope that if she didn't sit in one she wouldn't receive the bad news.

"Coffee would be good"

The next 2 hours seemed to drag by excruciatingly slowly. Conversation had never been as stilted as they both clock watched waiting for their little pager to go off telling them they could come and collect her.

Eventually Sara's phone piped up. She could hear Lucie immediately, screaming in the background. A horrible agonised animal scream that made every fibre of her body want to go to her.

"The operation was a success but Lucie is still a little under the anaesthetic. Give us another 20 minutes and she will be out of recovery"

Sara didn't relay the message to Grissom, she grabbed her purse and left heading towards the surgical building regardless of what they said.

"What did they say?"

"They said she's ok"

"Then why are we running?"

"Because she's not"

Before they entered the reception they could hear her screams. The nurse came out to speak to them with a very nervous look in her eyes.

"She's very upset; the anaesthetic hasn't worn off yet"

"Let me see her"

She directed them into the recovery ward. Lucie was in a bed beside the far wall and Sara was terrified with what she found. Lucie looked at her with her eyes glazed over. She bucked around the bed and threw herself off the bars violently. When Sara tried to reach out and touch her she screamed as though the feeling of skin against hers was a thousand knives in her back.

Sara could feel the tears welling in her eyes; it was horrific she didn't know what to do. Grissom reached in to the crib. He held Lucie with both hands and cradled her to his chest. She struggled, her screaming and bucking slowing until she stopped and fell into a fitful sleep.

When she woke up an hour later she seemed to have recovered completely, her bright eyes and her wide gummy smile were back.

She ran her hands through Grissom's beard and laughed.


	7. Chapter 7

The time had come for Grissom to return to work. He had been blessed with the opportunity to take such a long break; it had really given him ample opportunity to bond with his daughter. An old friend had contacted him with an offer too good to refuse. He could stay with his family but still have the challenges and interest that a workplace offered. He had to admit that he missed adult interaction.

That left one small problem in the form of little Miss Lucie Grissom. Sara would need her mornings to sleep off her nightshift and he would be working at the university.

They needed to find childcare.

"Ok I've made up a list of all the providers in our area and on route to the university"

Grissom looked over the painstakingly produced list. The name and address of each provider in one column followed by a short note about anything else she had been able to dig up online.

"We have visits with three of them this afternoon"

"Which three?"

Sara pointed to the three highlighted rows. Of course it was blatantly obvious, Sara was very thorough. He glanced over at Lucie. She was on the thick cream rug on all fours; her eyes were fixed on Hank who lay sleeping soundly on the sheer wooden floor across from her. She pushed her body back and forward as though winding herself up ready to launch straight into a speed crawl.

"She's a determined little girl you know; this has been her focus for the past three days."

"Poor Hank will be in for it when she starts crawling"

The huge bulldog raised his head on hearing his name. His eyes wide and his ears twitching in the hope of a treat and Lucie giggled. She moved her hands and shuffled her knees making it shakily across the rug as Sara and Grissom cheered at their daughter's great achievement. She beamed at them and turned her focus back to Hank who had grown tired of waiting for a treat and gone back to sleep. Her tiny hand reached out and yanked hard on his floppy ear as her slobbery mouth clamped onto his wet nose.

"Lucie! No, we don't bully Hank, he's a good boy. Aren't you a good boy Hank?"

Sara pet his head, scratching just behind his ear where she knew he liked as she plucked Lucie from the floor and brought her over to Grissom.

Grissom grinned as she held out her arms to him immediately. He signed to her 'come to daddy' and she responded by raising her hand to her forehead and attempting to mimic the 'daddy' sign.

He was going to miss her incredibly.

"Ok so which one is first?"

Sara pointed to the top of the list.

"Rose Garden Day-care?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Every rose has its thorn, Sara"

As it turns out Rose Garden Day-care was aptly named. The garden was indeed full of rose bushes; they were pretty and well maintained but not entirely appropriate for a childcare facility. A massively overweight woman answered the door with a toddler on each hip. She ushered them into a large living area littered with toys and gave them a well-rehearsed speech.

Lucie didn't like this woman; she buried her head in Sara's shoulder and refused to make eye contact no matter how many treats or toys she coaxed her with.

They thanked her as they made their way back to the car.

"She was nice…."

"Grissom, we both know there is no way you would leave Lucie with her"

He was about to stage a protest when he spotted the unlocked Garage, filled with paint cans and chemicals just waiting for a curious and inquisitive child like Lucie to wander into. This was a definite no.

"Where next then?"

Sara studied her list carefully, making sure to cross of 'rose garden day-care'

"The Mulberry Bush"

"Why do all these places have foliage in their titles?"

"It's a nursery rhyme, Gil"

"I know that! I'm just saying …"

There was only a short drive to the second facility. This was a larger purpose built building with play equipment outside and plenty of security features. They pressed the bell and watched as a young woman punched in codes to open the two front doors. She led them through to a room at the very back of the building where a pristine business woman sat typing on her computer.

"Dr and Mrs Grissom I presume, how nice to meet you, sit please"

She gestured to the vacant chairs in front of her desk and launched into a long hard sell about the many features of their facility including the calorie counted meals and the inclusive ballet lessons. It was all very overwhelming and the unamusing office soon had Lucie squirming and whingeing for entertainment.

They were given a tour of the building. It really had everything you could imagine. Rooms for all age groups, a dining room, a pre-school teaching room, a music room decked out with miniature instruments and a computer room. The door was protected by a baby gate and two thick doors, both with secure entry and surveillance. It was harder to get into than fort Knox.

The manager spotted Grissom studying the entry system.

"The parents have a code for the first door; they then press the intercom and give the password which is unique to your child before the security staff buzzes them into the building"

Grissom would admit to being impressed and the children all seemed to be thriving under their supervision. If they had intended to raise a genius then she would have to come to this place. He was sure the baby playing with a xylophone in the corner was making sounds similar to Mozart.

They thanked the staff and stepped outside to the long tree lined driveway.

"Well that one was…"

"Anal"

"Sara! I was going for impressive"

"Well I didn't like it, it felt like the kind of place all the yummy mummies and pushy parents send their kids"

"I think you're a yummy mummy"

She smiled and kissed him gently before Lucie slapped her little hands onto her face and puckered her own lips.

"Oh now Lucie wants kisses?"

Sara gently kissed her daughter receiving a cascade of throaty giggles as Grissom did the same.

A short time later they pulled up outside a small yellow cottage, flowers framed the pathway to the porch and metal butterflies chimed as the wind unsettled them from their hanging spot on the edge of the roof. They could hear signing from inside as they left the car.

"What kind of plant life are we visiting this time?"

"This is a child-minder, her name is Clara Farfalla"

"Ahhh an Italian name… do you know what it means?"

Sara shook her head as she studied the well-kept yard and the friendly porch which was a refuge for trikes, bikes and pushchairs.

"I bet she doesn't even know what it means Gil"

"Well it means butterfly"

They mounted the few steps in front of the porch and listened to the sounds of singing from inside.

"_I had a little turtle, he lived inside a box"_

Sara peered in through the small glass panel on the door to see an older woman seated on a chair, young children sat on the floor in front of her. They looked at her with such admiration and love that Sara could almost feel it from where she stood. The living area didn't seem to be particularly huge but there was enough space for the toys and books, a piano stood on one wall and a huge sofa under the window didn't even point to a television. Instead it faced a wall full of children's artwork, all labelled and dated accordingly. It looked and felt incredibly homely.

"_He swam in the water, he climbed on the rocks"_

Both the woman and the children moved their hands as though swimming and climbing and Sara smiled as she watched them

"_He snapped at a mosquito, he snapped at a flea_

_He snapped at a minnow and then he snapped at me"_

The children giggled as they mimicked the 'snap' action. Sara liked it here already. She turned to Grissom as he studied the neighbourhood with interest.

"You know, I've never been here before. That's a good thing."

"Gil, they're signing in there"

He handed Lucie to her and peered in through the door as they started their second verse.

"_He caught the mosquito, he caught the flea_

_He caught the minnow, but he didn't catch me"_

The children snatched the air and pretended to eat their bugs ending with a wag of their fingers and a shake of their heads. A small round of applause and the woman stood from her chair and spotted him peering in through the window.

By the time she reached the door they had already made their decision.


	8. Chapter 8

Every parent knows how tricky it can be when a child forms an attachment to something. A blanket, a teddy, a doll. Sara and Gil were beginning to learn just how tricky it can be.

Lucie apparently wasn't like conventional children, the teddy bears and dollies were discarded within a few minutes of scrutiny. Much to Sara's dismay her daughter's fascination lay with the bugs and beasts Grissom stored in the front room. She had pleaded and begged him to move them to the study before she was born. He had fully intended to do so until they started moving them. Grissom had only then realised quite how extensive his collection was. He couldn't even fit half of it into the study so he and Sara had dutifully moved every box and tank back to its original place with him sheepishly promising to keep the baby away from the beasties!

It turns out it wasn't so easy to keep her away. Almost the very second she learned to crawl she appeared to be on a mission to get to those curious creatures. She may have inherited her father's bug fascination but she had most definitely inherited her mother's stubborn nature and rage against authority. It seemed as though every time Grissom moved her away from the boxes the more determined she got to get to them.

Lucie's attachment however came from an entirely different place.

Greg was certainly not the first choice of sitter. Sara loved him with all her heart but she had to admit that leaving her daughter with him was somewhat of a wrench. He grinned from ear to ear when they appeared at the door and she noted he had dutifully removed all traces of porn from his sitting room. As a matter of fact he had removed anything that could possibly have been deemed a danger including his rather lovely glass coffee table.

He immediately took Lucie from her arms and sat in the vacant space on the floor to play peek-a-boo with some pillows. Lucie didn't even look up when her mother left; she was too busy giggling at silly Uncle Greg.

When they returned from their appointment Lucie was snuggled up asleep on the sofa as Greg sat on the floor watching MTV on mute stating he didn't want to wake her. Sara tiptoed over to brush the unruly dark curls from her daughters face when she noticed her hands clenched around something. She recognised the deep blue fabric and the gold stitching. She hadn't seen that in years and here was Lucie snuggled up to it like it was a fluffy bunny or a soft blanket.

"You gave her the turban?"

"She found it, she obviously has excellent taste we played with it for ages and then she wouldn't let it go!"

"I can't believe you still have it"

Sara gently lifted Lucie from the sofa, trying her best to keep her asleep but when it came to prising that awful turban from her hands her daughter had other ideas. With surprising strength Lucie clung onto the fabric even when she was still sleeping. Sara eventually yanked the turban away from her in one fell swoop and Lucie was wide awake and screaming as though Sara had just pulled off a limb.

She tried to console her with a huge number of things from her bag. A pacifier, a book, a small teddy, a rabbit, a rattle, her keys, her bracelet and they all failed miserably. Nothing would abate her screaming until Greg donned the offending Turban and began peeking out from behind the sofa. All of a sudden the screams were replaced with squeals of delight as he popped the turban on her head. She pulled it down over her eyes only to 'pop' out again and Greg fell over pretending to be shocked at the mysterious vanishing baby.

"Looks like you have inherited a turban"

"How will you cope without it Greg? Grissom is going to love this"

"Maybe he'll wear it for you in the bedroom"

Sara threw the little stuffed bear she was holding at him. Once more she tried to remove Lucie from the turban with no success finally giving in and bringing it with her to the car. Grissom's confusion was evident as he swivelled in his seat to examine what Lucie was holding so tightly to her chest.

"What you got there lady?"

He reached out to pull it away from her and received his own rendition of her very vocal protests. Sara finished strapping her into her seat, it was no easy task when she refused to let go of the lump of fabric. She took her position in the passenger seat before turning to Grissom.

"Lucie found something special at Uncle Greg's"

He tried studying it again but the dim light in the car and the fierce grip of his baby daughter made it impossible.

"You don't recognise it?"

Grissom shook his head; he wasn't even sure what 'it' was.

"The Great Swami suspects that Lucie will be a medium when she grows up"

"It is not that god awful turban is it?"

Sara laughed and nodded, amused at both the memory of Greg prancing about the lab with it gracing his head and of the repulsion in Grissom's voice as he realised exactly what they were dealing with.

"No, she can't have that. We'll get her something else. Greg shouldn't even have it. I'm pretty sure it was Lab Property"

"What use could the lab possibly have for a turban Gil? Except to keep Greg Sanders amused?"

Grissom was trying to prise Lucie's hands from the fabric, Sara decided to say nothing and watch this battle of wills play out. She was confident that Lucie would win. Grissom may be an intelligent man but she had him all figured out already which was sometimes more than she could say for the man. To this day he could still bewilder her.

Lucie was winning, he almost got it away from her and she immediately stuck out her quivering bottom lip and stared at him. She could have broken a heart of stone with that look and Grissom immediately returned the Turban to her and started driving.

"Maybe she can keep it for a little while"

Sara smiled back at her daughter; she had her daddy wrapped right around her finger.

For once, when they were back at home Grissom didn't have to spend all his time pulling her away from the bugs. Lucie sat on the floor with her turban. She chewed the top of her turban. She tormented Hank with her turban and she slept with her turban.

Grissom never did wear it in the bedroom; he didn't have the heart to take it from her again.


	9. Chapter 9

They approached Betty's home with an air of caution; they had never left Lucie for an entire night before. She slept soundly in her pushchair still snuggled up to Greg's turban. Sara was actually quite looking forward to Betty's reaction to _that_, Lucie would only let go of the thing for two people. Her daddy and Greg.

The university's annual Christmas soirée was apparently the highlight of the social year for the staff. She could count on one hand the amount of times she had been to huge public gatherings with her husband. They preferred their privacy, their solitude in their own little bubble far away from the prying eyes of other people. Having said that Sara was still looking forward to an entire night of just the two of them. Well if you don't count the other couple of hundred staff members and alumni.

Betty was perfectly ecstatic at having her granddaughter for the night. She had purchased just about the entire contents of the nursery store near her home. She whirled the pushchair away from them and waved dismissively as they stood side by side in the hall.

"We should make sure she knows her routine, I better go write it down"

Grissom held her gently by the shoulder and smiled at her.

"She'll be fine, let's just go enjoy ourselves"

He gently guided her out of the door and towards the car.

"I have a surprise for you at home anyway"

A smile played at the corners of his mouth as she studied him for clues, he had collected her from the lab. She had kept working through the day on a tricky case so that she could have the night off with a clear conscience.

As she stepped through the door of their home her senses were attacked from all angles. The room was littered with candles, flickering softly and casting a soft romantic glow over the room. The smell of another one of Grissom's wonderful meals filled her nose and cast a nostalgic smile over her face. A gentle aria sounded over the stereo, masking the traffic sounds from outside. He handed her a small parcel, brown paper tied with twine. Its simplicity amused her as she picked at the rough twine and the folds fell open revealing the rich teal silk beneath. She slipped it out of the packet and held it up, the dress unravelled beautifully as he gently nuzzled her neck.

"I want you to feel every bit as beautiful as you are"

Then he was at the stove, fishing the lasagne out of the oven and humming to himself. Sara stepped into the bathroom to wash up and was hit by more sensations. A wall of steam hit her face as she opened the door and a beautiful rose scent filled her nose. More candles littered this room and petals danced on the surface of the bath water.

"You made me a bath?"

She slipped into the seat at the dining table with a smile.

"Boiling hot, just how you like it"

After a glorious meal and a hot bath she felt like she was floating on a cloud. She had never felt so relaxed in her life and stepping into the bedroom to watch her husband fiddling with his bow tie only made her heart swell even more.

He looked incredibly dashing in his dress suit, although he was yet to master tying his own tie. She wondered for a moment if he just liked to use it as an excuse for intimacy as she stood in front of him in her underwear to tie it in a neat bow and their eyes locked in a moment that seemed to stretch on forever.

"I like you in a tux; I like you even better out of it"

She pulled him close to her body, caressing his lips with hers as his hands slipped down to skim over the soft slippery fabric of her panties.

"That's for later, we have to go soon. Catherine is sending us a limo"

She rolled her eyes as she fished her blow dryer out of the drawer, she didn't care for such shows of wealth. She would rather have walked in the back door than show up in a Limo for the red carpet treatment. Catherine was an Alumna; she had been a student at the university and had also donated a large amount of her late father's money. Or so Hodges and Greg would have her believe. There was no doubt in her mind Cath would be on top form tonight, sashaying around and flirting with the male staff members whether Lou was with her or not. Catherine used her sexuality to her advantage at all times.

She half-heartedly fixed her hair, slipping a sparkling butterfly clip on one side and scrunching up the loose curls before applying the bare minimum make up she could get away with. When she joined her husband in the other room he took a sharp intake of breath and smiled widely.

"You look amazing"

And she felt it too. The silk of the dress moved around her legs when she walked, it caressed her skin when she moved and highlighted her curves as the candle light reflected off its sheer surface. He was moving towards her when the horn sounded outside and they knew it was Catherine. They quickly snuffed out the candles and stepped out into the cold night air.

The school's conference hall was a changed place from the last time she had saw it. The football slogans and posters were removed from the walls and replaced with draped fabrics and twinkling fairy lights. A ridiculously huge tree stood in one corner and a band took u most of the stage.

True to form Catherine took off straight away to chat with the director and his wife, heaving Lou behind her by the hand. The room was packed with unfamiliar people, all dressed up to the nines and smiling widely. A young woman approached them, her hair swept up in a loose bun and her backless dress defying gravity.

"Dr Grissom, I'm so glad you came. Isn't it nice to see you in a tux?"

Sara eyed her suspiciously. She was obviously very drunk and obviously very attracted to her husband. Grissom, as usual, had no idea.

"Melanie, I'd like you to meet my wife Sara. Sara… Melanie is one of the secretaries for my department"

She reached out her hand to the woman who just stared at her with a shocked expression before stomping off in the opposite direction.

"Something you want to tell me about Melanie, Dr Grissom?"

She couldn't help but smile at the pure confusion on his face. He could tell you any number of things about bugs but ask Gil Grissom to define a woman and he would be rendered speechless. He took her hand and ushered her to the huge dance floor in front of the stage. He slipped his arms around her and twirled her around like they were the only two people in the room, lost in the music and the closeness of their bodies.

As the night drew to a close people started filtering out in their groups or pairs. She could see poor Lou propping up the bar on his own as Catherine spoke animatedly with a table full of professionals. She didn't want to wait around to witness their discussion on the way home.

"Let's walk home; it's not that cold out"

They made their excuses to Catherine and Lou and stepped out into the crisp night air. It was colder than she had thought and despite trying hard to supress it a shiver worked its way through her body. Grissom could never be accused of being ungentlemanly, he removed his jacket immediately and draped it over her shoulders his arm pulling her close to him as they walked along the quiet peaceful streets on their way home.

"I had a good time tonight"

"It's not over yet"

He was smiling that kind of smile where she knew he had something planned. Something he was excited about sharing with her.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just get home first, shall we?"

All the way home she wondered exactly what she had done to deserve such a wonderful husband. He may have spent many years hesitating and driving her crazy but he had more than made up for it.

He held back as she opened the front door. The house was dark and quiet and her hand felt for the switch eagerly as he watched her. The light flooded the room and it took her a few long seconds to register exactly what was going on.

The same twine that had tied her beautiful dress was twisted and snaked all around the room. Everywhere she looked the twine was looped and twirled around, beside, under and through the furniture.

"What's going on?"

Grissom simply smiled and handed her the knotted end of twine from the door. She began to twirl it around her fingers, rolling it up as she went following the trail all around the room. Grissom silently following her, watching her with fond amusement as she untwisted the twine from chairs, slid it from the handle of the teapot and pulled it from under the table.

"How on earth did you get a chance to do this?"

"I may have had some help"

She knew he meant Greg, he had been positively buzzing with excitement today and when she had suggested he joined them at the party he had muttered something about washing his hair.

She snaked in and out and round in circles following the twine until finally she reached the bedroom. More twisting and turning as Grissom lay casually on the bed and watched her every move. She was beginning to feel really silly, following this ball of string like a cat eager for her plaything.

The twine eventually led to the bed, twisting around the posts before disappearing into his trouser pocket. She crawled over him making sure to put on her very best sexy smile and arch her back ever so slightly. He didn't flinch, not so much as a blink as she brushed against his body and reached her hand into his pocket. She felt her finger close around a small velvet box and she slipped it out of his pocket curiously.

She turned the red box over in her hands examining every detail before she slowly opened the lid to gaze at the treasure inside. Her fingers danced over the dainty silver chain and her eyes lit up as she regarded the beautifully crafted butterfly perched in the middle.

"What's all this for?"

He took the necklace from her hands and slipped it around her neck, gently nuzzling at her collarbone as he clipped the ends together.

"Well, on this date around 13 years ago I met the woman who would change my life"


	10. Chapter 10

`Lucie seemed to be a fan of 5am. At one point in his life 5am would have been a perfectly reasonable time to be awake, at this point in his life he felt as though his body moved completely independent from his mind. He padded into the nursery where Lucie was chattering excitedly to the bugs and butterflies on her mobile. She beamed her beautiful smile at him as he flipped on the dull light and stood by her crib.

"Well little lady, don't you know its 5am? 5am is for sleeping"

He was answered by a cascade of giggles and a furious kicking of her chubby little legs. She was positively buzzing with energy.

"You've been speaking to your mother"

He pondered for a few minutes what the best course of action was this time. He could often take her into their huge king-size bed and snuggle her up beside him for a few hours. This morning she seemed much more energetic than normal, which was ironic because he felt much more lethargic than normal. He hoisted her onto his hip and padded into the living room quietly. Hank huffed as he flipped on the light, he didn't respond kindly to being woke in the middle of the night.

He sat Lucie in the middle of the rug and turned his attention to the refrigerator. He needed substance if he was going to be awake at such an unsavoury hour. The fridge was a disappointing array of nothingness. He sighed deeply as he pulled out the eggs and some veggies hidden in the crisper. An omelette would have to do; he may even share it with Lucie. He whisked the ingredients together and poured them into his favourite frying pan.

When he turned his attention back to the room there was no sign of the baby. She was definitely not on the rug where he was sure he had left her.

"Lucie?"

He stepped through the room studying the floor; she was nowhere to be seen.

He was beginning to get really worried. He dropped on all fours and started crawling around on the floor calling for her. Hank following him around on his search, occasionally sticking his wet nose and slobbery face into Grissom's.

"Where's Lucie Hank?"

The boxer jumped back and leaned forward on his front legs, arching his back as he launched into a huge yawn and curled up on the rug. He was obviously not interested in where Lucie was.

The search of the living room had proved completely useless. Lucie was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't at her usual spot watching his bugs, she wasn't pulling all the books off the bookcase, and she wasn't in Hank's bed. She had vanished into thin air. He had even checked in the trash and the laundry hamper just in case she had suddenly developed monkey like traits overnight.

Sara would be home soon, how on earth was he going to explain losing their child in their own home. That was unbelievable even for him. He began to move through the other rooms of the house steadily, calling her name and listening carefully for any response. He was getting nowhere and his heart was beginning to race through the possibilities as he checked the doors to the balcony were indeed locked and that the front door was closed tight. The windows were all firmly closed, there was no way for anyone to get in which in turn meant no way for anyone to get out without him noticing. Even someone as small as Lucie.

He resumed his crawling search; the best way to find where someone had gone was to enter their frame of mind. He searched all around her nursery, in the drawers and at the bottom of her wardrobe, in among her collection of soft toys and under the crib.

Still nothing.

He began to consider calling the police. She had supposedly vanished into thin air, one minute smiling and laughing in her crib the next nothing.

He searched in the study, optimistically pulling open the drawers on his filing cabinet and peering under the desk. He wasn't even sure she would fit in one of the drawers but he was beginning to question his life theory. Maybe people could just vanish?

He crawled into the master bedroom. He didn't register the car pulling into the driveway and cutting the engine or the scrape of keys in the lock. He patted down the mounted peaks of blankets carefully hoping maybe that she had curled up in the soft fabric but they flattened easily.

"Gil? Are you home?"

The panic was beginning to set it, Sara was home and he had no idea where Lucie was. He was still hunched over on all fours when she stepped into the room. He lifted the edge of the blankets draping over the side of the bed as she regarded him with some amusement.

"Gil, what are you doing?"

His eyes danced as he looked at her with a wide smile and gestured under their bed.

"Looking at our daughter"

Sara crouched down and peered under the bed. Lucie was curled up tightly clutching one of Sara's nightshirts around her little body, sleeping soundly under the bed. Sara's confused smile was greeted with a soft kiss on the lips.

"sleeping beauty, but why is she under our bed?"

"Would you like an omelette?"


	11. Chapter 11

**a/n: This is just a short one, I think I am in a depressive mood but thank you to csijenniferlynn both for pushing me to write something happy and inspiring the content.**

* * *

><p>Sara had a rare night off and she was looking forward to putting her feet up and relaxing, she had already worked well into the afternoon finishing off her paperwork. Grissom had been quite cryptic on the phone on her way home.<p>

He said he had a 'surprise' for her and he seemed to be very excited about it. As she drove through the chaos that is afternoon rush hour traffic she pondered what it could be. She hoped it involved a hot bubble bath and a lot of candles. Grissom, however, was never as predictable as that. The last time he said he was taking her to dinner as a surprise they had driven all the way to Mohave Valley for a picnic under the stars.

She stepped through the door to an altogether different surprise. Grissom sat on the floor cross legged directly across from little lucie. They wore matching baseball shirts and Lucie's dark curls spilled out over the rim of her cap. He was teaching her the sign for baseball. Or trying to at least, while Grissom would mime hitting a ball with a bat Lucie preferred to just shake her fist at him laughing and make an attempt at eating her cap.

"What have you done to my Girl?"

Lucie beamed and raised her arms to her mother immediately. Sara stepped across the room to raise Lucie to her hip, laughing at the little red baseball boots and the personalised shirt she was wearing.

"This is my surprise? You've turned my daughter into a Rebels fan? The cutest little Rebel's fan I've seen!"

Grissom stood from the floor and threw her a mischievous grin as he uncurled another shirt that had been laid on the sofa. He turned it around to show her the 'Sara' emblazoned across the back.

"Not just Lucie" he grinned.

Sara automatically began to shake her head in protest; she had done her part as dutiful wife. She had gone to the games and eaten the peanuts. She had sat beside the big hairy man with the painted chest and watched the cheesy proposals on the big screen. She had yet to don a shirt with her name on the back.

"I don't see that happening Gil…"

His crestfallen expression tugged on her heart strings, almost enough to convince her to participate in their family trip to the baseball. She had to admit Lucie looked utterly adorable in her outfit.

She was sure neither Catherine nor Betty would approve of it though. They had both voiced their disappointment at the lack of pink girly dresses their daughter owned. Every opportunity they had to dress her up they took. Grissom and Sara had a somewhat more relaxed attitude the gender stereotyping.

Lucie was squirming in her arms so she placed her on the floor beside Hank. Grissom continued to stand by the sofa holding Sara's shirt with a hopeful smile.

"Come on. It'll be fun"

She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips at him. He knew that meant he had won, that she had relented.

"Can I pass on the shirt?"

"Nope, the shirt or nothing"

He responded by waving it around with a smile and she snatched it from his hands. Slipping it on over her vest top and fiddling with the buttons she regarded him with suspicion.

"Fine! where did you get these anyway?"

"I have my methods…"

He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her close as Lucie gummed the rim of her hat beside Hank. When he pulled Sara in for a kiss he was granted a cascade of giggles from his daughter.

"Gilbert Grissom, are you keeping secrets from you're wife?"

"First game of the season Sara, where's your team spirit?"

"I must have misplaced it with my urge to spend my day off with a couple of hundred strangers"

He fanned out 3 tickets in front of her face with a smile. Apparently one of the perks of working for the UNLV is free tickets to the opening game of the season. With a sigh she took the tickets from his hand.

"Ok, go rebels! I hope you're at least buying me peanuts?"

He reached behind his back towards the sofa and slipped a red cap onto her head with a huge smile.

"Whatever you're heart desires my dear. Let's go"

"Play ball!"


	12. Chapter 12

One cold morning in October Grissom took a call from desert palm hospital. His mother had a fall walking to the grocery store and had been admitted with a complex leg fracture. She had undergone an arduous 3 hour operation but would need support at home if she was to leave hospital. Sara knew there was something wrong when Grissom was waiting for her in the break room halfway through shift.

"What are you doing here? Where's Lucie?"

Grissom nodded towards the other room where Mandy had Lucie perched on her lap. They both seemed to be engrossed in whatever was on the screen in front of them.

"We need to talk"

His tone was serious so she sat down in the chair beside him with a frown and nodded, reaching her hands out to his automatically. He knew what he was about to say next would not go down well. He had practiced his defence the whole way over there as though he was about to tell her some sort of life changing, earth shattering news and yet sitting there across form his beautiful wife with her concerned trusting eyes he knew that he would never be able to put it as articulately as he would have liked.

"I have asked my mother to come and live with us for a while"

Her expression was one of pure shock, her raised eyebrows and gaping mouth showing that she didn't know what to say or she was trying not to say it. Her hands slipped out of his and landed in her lap as she struggled to absorb what he had just said.

"Gil… I…"

"She's had an accident Sara; it will only be for a little while"

"I'm not sure that…"

"You'll hardly know she's there"

"But Gil…"

"I have warned her to behave"

"Gil..."

"For me, please. Just for a little while"

She sighed and met his eyes; he was surprised to see amusement dancing in the deep brown and greens or her eyes.

"Its fine, I'll survive"

He let out a sigh of relief, it had gone a lot easier than he had expected. Sara and Betty's relationship was strained at times, since Lucie had been born and Grissom had come back to Vegas it had improved a thousand fold but that wasn't to say that they could live in such close proximity to each other without fireworks. Sara and Betty disagreed on just about everything, most times he could play referee or convince the women to agree to disagree. It was going to be hard work managing the strong opinions and stubbornness of the two women in his life. He could only hope that Lucie could bring them together.

Nick appeared in the doorway with a broad smile.

"Mandy just ran Lucie through AFIS"

He smiled again as Sara raised an eyebrow and stood to rescue her daughter. Grissom peered into the lab as Lucie clapped her hands together in delight.

"Did you get a hit?"

"Where exactly was your daughter on the 12th of December last year?"

* * *

><p>Grissom peered into his mother's hospital room cautiously, he was keen not to wake her if she was asleep but when Lucie spotted her she wailed for her grandmother and began waving her hand under her chin.<p>

"That's right Lucie" said Grissom showing her the sign "Grandmother"

Betty was woozy but she tried to sit up in her bed to smile at her baby grand-daughter. Grissom sat down in the uncomfortable pink chair at the side of her bed and held her hand in his. Her long frail fingers were cold and Grissom noticed for the first time how fine and fragile the skin there was.

"_I had to have an operation"_

"_I know. You're going to come and stay with us for a little while. Until your back on your feet."_

She immediately began shaking her head, she was fiercely independent woman. She took great pride in the fact that she had successfully raised a son and held a career as a single mother. Her sense of pride did not stop as old age took hold, she regularly volunteered at the Gilbert school for the deaf and was actively involved in all kinds of charity work and functions. The very idea of relying on her son and his family for support ignited her stubborn, insatiable need to prove everyone wrong.

"_I'm fine, I can go home myself."_

"_Mother, if you can't come home with me they won't let you leave"_

She sighed and nodded in his direction, resigned to the fact that she would indeed need some help over the next few weeks. The only benefit of that being she could spend more time with the most important person in her life right now; her beautiful grand-daughter.

Lucie was perched on the side of the bed, playing innocently with a cardboard sick bowl. She chewed on the rim and played peek-a-boo with Betty before the doctor told them they had to leave. She waved enthusiastically and gave Betty a huge wet kiss before they disappeared out of the hospital.

When he arrived home, making sure he was armed with hot chocolate and pastries, Sara was standing in the doorway to his office. She gazed around at the seemingly endless piles of papers and books, the maze of boxes and tanks and experiments and fossils and sighed.

"I brought a peace offering?"

He placed Lucie down beside a huge wooden jigsaw on the floor and approached his wife carefully. He knew that look, it was the one she wore when she was about to approach a subject he wouldn't necessarily enjoy.

"It'll take more than hot chocolate this time" she smiled as she reached out for the paper cup. "Where are we going to put all this _stuff_?"

He was confused; he couldn't fathom why there would be any need to move his collection at all.

"Your mother is going to have to sleep somewhere Gil, where you planning on putting her on the couch?"

The penny finally dropped and he joined her in staring into the room. It was indeed crammed with stuff, there was really nowhere else he could put anything and his mother would be needed at the very least a bed.

"Let's get started then"

It didn't take as long as they had expected to sort through the jumble that defined him. Now that the room was relatively empty all they had to do was find a place for the mountains they had extracted from it. They turned to survey the carnage they had created and spotted Lucie crawling between the maze of boxes and stacks of papers. She stopped at one particular tank and gazed inside with interest. It was her friends the hissing cockroaches. It felt like she had been fascinated by them forever, so much so that Grissom had been forced to move them from their living area into his office so that she didn't pull them on top of her. Before they could reach her the lid was slid to one side and she grabbed one of the huge beasts in her chubby little hand.

Sara shuddered as Grissom swooped her into his arms and carefully prized the cockroach from her hand.

"They don't like being squashed Lucie, we have to be gentle"

He held out her arm and placed the insect onto it as it crawled up towards her shoulder she laughed and giggled in delight. Sara rolled her eyes and picked her way to the kitchen. She could cope with the mini-beasts in tanks and boxes but when it came to one crawling up her daughter's arm that was definitely daddy territory.

"Like father, like daughter huh?"


	13. Chapter 13

Betty surveyed her make shift bedroom with an air of indifference.

It was clear that she didn't really want to be there and Sara couldn't help but blame herself for that. Her relationship with Betty had definitely gotten better since Gil had returned to Vegas but she knew she would never count her mother in law as a friend.

It was strange how one woman could infuriate and fascinate her so much in the same breath, she had never really thought about Betty's similarities to Grissom until Catherine had pointed it out. She didn't seem to feel that same need to please Betty but she did struggle with her inability to let anyone close to her. Considering they already had two huge things in common, their love for Grissom and Lucie, they really should have got on a lot better.

Lucie pulled herself up to a standing position with the thick comforter spread over her grandmother's bed. Betty beamed a huge smile and clapped her hands together before glancing at Sara with such excitement and pride she couldn't help but warm to her. Grissom came to join her in the doorframe, watching as Betty took Lucie's tiny little hands and helped her to step shakily towards her. Unsupported she didn't do so well, Betty caught her under the arms in time to save her from tumbling to the ground but it didn't stop her little face crumpling into a cascade of sobs as she crawled to her mother as fast as she could.

"It's time for her nap anyway, say goodnight Lucie"

Sara signed goodnight for Lucie but 'good' was as far as she got as her little fist rubbed at her eyes sleepily. Sara smiled as she snuggled into her shoulder before disappearing in the direction of the nursery. Betty turned her attention to her son.

"_You should have her baptised you know Gilbert"_

He wasn't surprised that she brought up the subject, he had been expecting it. In fact it surprised him that she had taken this long.

"_We don't believe in religion mother, you know that"_

"_You would not like your daughter to be welcomed into the arms of god?"_

"_If god does exist, then he will welcome her should she be baptised or not"_

Betty pursed her mouth tightly and turned away from him to gaze at the overflowing bookcase as he wheeled her towards the bed.

"_I want to go in the chair Gilbert; I will not be an invalid"_

He sighed as he changed direction, helping her to sit in the huge chair pressed into one corner of the room. He was sure she would be bored just sitting there but she refused all offers of entertainment.

"_Shall I bring you a Television through? Some books?"_

"_I am perfectly happy as I am thank you"_

Grissom sighed; he knew there was no point in trying to argue with her when she was in such a defiant mood. Instead he sat down on the bed and watched as she pulled out a knitting bag and began clicking away on a long white shawl. She had obviously been working on it for a long time. The intricate patterns weaved into the wool were breath taking but there was no mistaking what it was for.

"_A baptism shawl? You know we have discussed this already"_

"_Lucie is almost 1 year old and she has not been welcomed to this world Gilbert. It's time to fix that"_

He knew he wouldn't get her to relent; she would drop hints and comments until they were eventually worn down enough to agree. He left the room quickly, sensing an argument looming; he was keen to avoid confrontation with her especially on the first day. Sara was seated at the dining table with her laptop propped in front of her, she had an instant calming effect over him and he took the seat beside her with a warm smile.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking up ways to non-violently subdue your mother… I'm kidding! I was just checking my emails."

"She's making a baptism shawl in there"

"Gil, I thought we decided not to…"

"We did, I told her that. ... but she's still knitting"

They both sat in silence for a while, hearing only the soft breathing of their baby daughter in the next room and the click of Betty's knitting needles. Sara sighed and tapped a few keys on her Laptop before glancing at Grissom sitting there as though he was pondering the meaning of life. He looked up quickly as though sensing her gaze.

"You know, maybe we should…" he was hesitant with his words, as though he was gauging her reactions before committing to anything.

"Think about it?"

She slid the laptop around to show him a site dedicated to the different kinds of naming ceremonies. He hadn't realised there were so many options or that she could so easily read his reactions.

"We could have a naming ceremony, I guess it's maybe a little late for us to be doing it but it could subdue your mother and the team have been bugging me about a party"

Grissom read the page of information and beamed at his wife, this could work. There would be no priest or holy water but they would be officially recognising and welcoming their daughter to the world and that's what his mother had wanted.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely, it will give your mother something to focus on while she's here rather than talking about our sex life or criticising my work schedule"

Grissom kissed her hand gently before she stood to make them some coffee, her cell phone rang loudly on the counter waking Lucie from her nap.

"Sorry, it's Catherine. I better take it"

Grissom padded into the sanctuary of the nursery, it was an instantly relaxing place. The thick carpet and soft curtains accentuated the mellow colour on the walls and the curved furniture. There were soft toys dotted everywhere around the room and even her crib was brimming with blankets and teddies galore. She was still sleepy as Grissom tucked the blanket around her tiny body; she rubbed at her eyes and moaned a little before turning onto her side and snuggling down for more sleep while her daddy stroked her soft curls. Sara tiptoed into the room and handed him a mug of steaming hot coffee while they both watched her sleep.

"I have to go in to work; Catherine just got called to a multiple"

He nodded in response and kissed her as she turned and left the room, his mother was certainly right about some things. Sara worked too hard.


	14. Chapter 14

Sara made a last ditch attempt to tame her daughter's jungle of unruly curls before they faced their loved ones filling the chairs in the small courtyard.

Neither one of them were very interested in causing a huge scene, this kind of a show was not usually there thing but a combination of Betty Grissom and Catherine Willows had finally won out. A naming ceremony was a compromise; it had taken all their powers of persuasion to keep it low key when Catherine had found out.

In the end they got what they wanted. A small gathering of all the people they loved dearly, welcoming their baby daughter into the world. Suddenly it didn't feel like it was something they were being forced into.

The sun shone in the sky, the beautiful fresh scent of flowers in full bloom filled the air. Lucie clutched at her dress in an attempt to capture the tiny sunbeams reflecting off the crystals dotted around the full white skirt. Betty may not have got her way with the baptism but she had made sure Lucie was dressed in only the best custom made christening gown.

People filtered in leaving gifts on one table and food on the other, the sun shone down on the courtyard bathing everything in its warm glow. They had to admit Catherine had done a good job with the setting, a tranquil courtyard in the middle of Las Vegas. No-one would know it was seconds away from the hustle and bustle of sin city, it was a world away. An archway littered with delicate white flowers and faux butterflies framed one end, fairy lights sparkling in among the foliage. Nick manned the barbeque, preparing for the end of the ceremony when everyone would be looking for one of his famous chilli burgers. Greg nervously paced in a corner, reading and re-reading his speech, determined to get it just right. Catherine was floating around holding court, playing the perfect hostess as usual. None of it would have come together without her, she had been a godsend for them both and Grissom had taken great pride in asking her to be one of Lucie's Guardians.

When Grissom stood in front of their congregation of friends and family to read his speech it brought a tear to Sara's eye. It was a moment neither of them would have imagined; to be a parent was one of life's most precious blessings. A blessing they thought would never have come to them and now they held in their arms an adorable little girl.

Grissom's words were laced with emotion, love and awe as he presented his daughter for her blessing. Greg took his place at Grissom's side. Nervously clearing his throat and kissing Lucie's outstretched hand.

"May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others, and let others do for you, May you build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung. May you stay forever young"

Sara almost had to sit down in her effort to stifle the laugh bubbling within her as Greg continued to recite song lyrics he was shamelessly passing off as his own speech. When he stepped back for Catherine she elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"Bob Dylan, Greg? Did you really think you could get away with that?"

"no-one else noticed" he noted with a wink.

And he was right, the guests continued to smile and nod at Catherine's heartfelt words. Lucie beamed at everyone through the entire ceremony, enjoying being the centre of attention immensely. She laughed and smiled the whole way through the speeches, clapping her hands and waving at her grandmother throughout.

When they speeches were finished Betty took over. Sheparding Lucie around her loved ones with such pride on her face it even brought a lump to Sara's throat. Interfering, controlling and bewildering yes but Betty Grissom was every inch the perfect Grandmother. Right down to the sneaky treats she passed to Lucie from the now overflowing buffet table.

The party was in full swing and Lucie was leaving with her grandmother when Grissom appeared behind her. It had been a busy day, entertaining the guests and making sure to include every relative and friend was exhausting work and they had barely spent 30 minutes together all day. Grissom took advantage of a lull in the evening and nuzzled her neck as she watched their guests mingling.

"I didn't get a chance to thank you" his voice was almost a sigh, breathed into her ear as his thumb caressed her hip.

"Thank me for what?"

"Well, look at her" he nodded towards Lucie, snuggling into Betty's shoulder and rubbing her eyes. "She's perfect, just like her mother"

Sara slowly turned around in his arms and looked into his eyes with a flirty half smile.

"Flattery won't get you out of helping with the clear up you know"

He placed a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose, swaying in time to the music as he held her in his arms.

"I know dear"

With night closing in and casting shadows over the courtyard the party soon moved inside to the bar. Grissom watched as Nick twirled Sara around on the dance floor. Her smile lit up the whole room, her eyes sparkling with happiness. He felt like the luckiest man alive in that moment.

His life finally whole, finally complete. Something he had been searching for, for countless years that had been in front of his eyes all along.

Greg appeared by his side, reeking of booze and struggling to keep his heavy eyes open. He slung his arm over Grissom's shoulder and slurred into his ear.

"I love your wife Grissom. Really, you're lucky I don't steal her away from you"

"Your drunk Greg"

"YES! I'm not drunk. I'm drunk on love. I love you too. But you know, not in the same way. Cos that would just be creepy"

"I think I better take you home Greg"

And Greg started to laugh, an uncontrollable belly laugh that he couldn't stop until tears were running down his face and Sara and Nick were beside them. Sara put her hands on his hunched shoulders and looked at him with a concerned expression.

"Greg? Are you ok?"

"Your husband was coming on to me. I think he's up for a kinky threesome. What you think?"

Nick couldn't supress the laugh escaping from his mouth as Sara surveyed them all with a frown and Greg draped his arm around her shoulder.

"Ok lover boy, you need to go home. I'll get you a cab"

Sara started to walk towards the door, Greg still draped off her shoulders as he followed her. Nick patted Grissom's shoulder with a laugh and headed back to the dance floor with Catherine.

"I wanted to go home with 'The Grissom's" Greg sniggered as Sara hailed a cab.

With difficulty she bundled him into a taxi, it was like trying to squeeze an octopus into a teapot. He grabbed her around her neck before she could close the door.

"I promise to keep it a secret" he attempted to whisper

Sara smiled at him as she pulled away from his grasp, closed the door and leaned in through the open window.

"Greg, you couldn't keep up anyway"

With that she tapped the roof of the car and it pulled away, leaving a very drunk, very bewildered Greg in the backseat.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: I know I don't update this anywhere near as much as I should. Fluff seems to escape me, which will surprise anyone who actually knows me because I am really a very fluffy kinda person. apparently to maintain my fluffyness I must be forever restricted to writing horribly tense angsty stories! anyway here you have an update inspired by my wonderful, beautiful and talented friend csijenniferlynn - she'll see why. much love to you all, let me know what you think xxx_

* * *

><p>She stood in the kitchen staring at the cookbook like it was written in some long lost language impossible to understand. What she had been thinking when she decided to make Lucie's cake by herself she would never know. She should have taken Greg's advice and bought one to palm off as her own but not Sara Sidle. Sara Side could make a cake. It was easy; she had seen people do it before, whipping up glorious cake creations in no time at all. She was intelligent, methodical and creative. It should have been easy.<p>

It was not.

First of all the abbreviations made absolutely no sense, there were T's and t's and C's and c's all over the place. It would take some kind of a genius to decipher this code!

"She's out cold, need some help?"

He must have taken pity on her confused expression as he stepped out of Lucie's bedroom with a smile. He crossed the room and with just a glance at the cookbook he was pulling utensils and ingredients out of the cupboards with such self-conviction and confidence she was half tempted to just leave him to it.

Grissom, of course, wouldn't let her away with that. He threw ingredients in the bowl and instructed her to mix. She did as she was told, she may not have been able to read a cookbook but she was good at following instructions. She watched him adjusting the stove out of the corner of her eye; she loved it when Grissom was in the kitchen. He was a very skilled cook, he claimed it was due to living alone for so long but she argued that she had lived by herself for most of her adult life and she could just about boil an egg.

"Ok line the cake dish with butter, that stops the cake from sticking once it's cooked"

She nodded and stuck her knife into the butter which earned her a chuckle from her husband standing beside her.

"What?"

"Sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty Sara"

He plopped two fingers right down into the butter and hooked out a lump before running it along the edge of the tray. She was sure he was just trying to give her a cookery lesson but she suddenly had other ideas. She slipped one finger into the butter slowly and drew it out while maintaining his eye contact. With a smile she ran her butter clad finger down the length of his nose, pausing on his lips and then placing the finger in her own mouth.

His expression was priceless, he was still astounded when she teased him even after all this time however it was her turn to be astounded when Grissom dipped his hand into the bag of flour and covered her in the powder with a victorious smirk.

"That's just childish Gil Grissom, you should be ashamed of yourself" she retaliated with her own 'Flour Shower' and he slipped his hands around her waist to pull her close.

"You're right Dear, I should know better than to come anywhere near you in the kitchen"

"Well I got 20 minutes for you to keep me out of the kitchen…" she smiled suggestively as she led him to the bedroom.

Xxx

The cake may have turned out a little crispier than she would have liked but after it was adorned with piles of white icing and delicate sugar butterflies she was generally happy with the result.

The rest of the evening was spent wrapping presents, blowing up balloons and sticking up banners before they trudged off to bed.

In the morning Grissom passed Sara the last of the gaily decorated presents with a smile as she carefully positioned it with the others. The amount of effort she put into placing it in just the right place was endearing, especially considering that it would no doubt end up in a jumble of paper an boxes.

"I can't believe she's one, where did our little baby go?" she mused as she turned a photograph of Lucie over in her hands.

"She's not going off to college just yet Sara"

She sighed as she stood at the doorway to the nursery watching as Lucie slept soundly in her crib. She couldn't have predicted how much her life would have changed in the space of a year. On one hand it felt as though time had sped away from them, that every second she spent with her daughter was slipping through her fingers and yet it also felt like she had always been around.

Sara struggled to remember just what it was like without her, what it was like to get out of bed in the morning to the sound of an alarm clock or relax to read the newspaper. Now it was the sound of Lucie's voice that called out to her at silly-o-clock and the newspaper was replaced with an array of children's books and a lifetime subscription to the Disney channel. Bedtimes became less about falling into bed whenever exhaustion finally claimed her it now became a beautiful routine of bath time, cuddles and story time. She loved bedtimes more than anything, when they were all at home they would slip into the huge king sized bed and read to Lucie together. Lucie preferred Grissom's lilting tones but then that probably had more to do with the vibrations than the actual sound.

Grissom slipped his hands around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. He didn't understand her need to slow the pass of time. He seemed to have escaped the sort of nostalgia she was suffering. It wasn't so much that she was sad about Lucie growing up, in reality she was growing more proud of her wonderful daughter every day. She just wished she had more time to appreciate that.

With some gentle coaxing Grissom pulled her away from the nursery and they settled on the sofa with the obligatory morning coffee. Lucie didn't allow them too long to relax, within a few minutes she was calling out into her empty bedroom. She had become a lot more vocal recently. While yet to form actual words her voice was certainly not lost to her completely.

With an excited smile Sara practically ran into the bedroom and gathered Lucie into her arms, showering her with kisses and signing 'happy birthday'. Meanwhile, Grissom was attending to the buzzing of their front door. He hadn't been expecting anyone and definitely not this early in the morning but as it turned out everyone seemed to have the same idea. Catherine, Greg, Nick and Brass all stood outside the door with wide smiles and piles of presents. Bringing up the rear, equally surprised by the commotion in her son's hallway was Mrs. Grissom. Gil ushered them all through to the living area and Lucie greeted them with her sparkling smile.

She sat on the floor surrounded by brightly colored boxes and she had no idea what to do with them. Greg took up position behind her, coaxing her into ripping the paper and revealing the treasure inside. He had been an unexpectedly wonderful uncle to Lucie; he was a natural with children. Sara liked to tease it was because they shared similar mentalities but in truth she was impressed by Greg's ability to bond with Lucie and entertain her for hours with just a length of string or a piece of paper.

When she and Greg were finished destroying the mass of presents Grissom brought out her cake, one huge candle taking pride of place in the center. Lucie enjoyed the singing immensely, she smiled and clapped her hands and looked around at her extended family with glee.

She seemed fascinated with the flicker of the candle; Sara lost count of the times she had to pull her chubby little hand away from the flame. Teaching her to blow it out was another challenge. She seemed to find their demonstrations hilarious and eventually a sneeze did the trick, garnering a round of applause from all the adults.

By the time everyone was gone Lucie had curled up on the sofa beside one of her new cuddly toys. The room was littered with ribbon and bows and colorful paper of every description. Plates with remnants of cake crumbs and coffee mugs were scattered everywhere but for once Sara and Grissom didn't rush to restore order to their normally immaculate home.

They sat on the other sofa, arms around each other and a coffee mug in hand as they watched their baby girl sleep.

Sometimes the mess could wait; sometimes savoring the moment was much more important.


End file.
